The Living and the Dead (2007) Reviews

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A family facing myriad disasters is forced to confront one in the form of their own son in this harrowing psychological drama from British filmmaker Simon Rumley. Donald Brocklebank (Roger Lloyd Pack) is a former British nobleman who has lost his peerage, and with it his fortune. The Brocklebank estate has fallen into disrepair, Donald's wife, Nancy (Kate Fahy), is suffering from an advanced case of cancer that makes nearly any effort an agony, and their son, James (Leo Bill), is a manic depressive with violent tendencies and the mind of a child. Only an operation that Donald cannot afford will save Nancy's life, so he has made plans to sell the estate in order to pay for the surgery and her subsequent care. However, Donald has to travel out of town for several days in order to complete the details of the sale. He has arranged for Mary (Sarah Ball), a nurse who has worked for the family before, to care for his wife while he's away, but Donald is forced to leave before Mary arrives. Determined to show his father that he's a responsible adult, James announces he'll be "looking after Mummy," locks Mary out of the house, disconnects the telephone, and stages a minor siege as Mary is determined to save Nancy's life. Nancy slowly slips into a panic as her brutal and incompetent son nearly claims her life, and matters become uglier when Mary contacts the police about the situation at the Brocklebank mansion. The Living and the Dead won the Jury Award in five categories (including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor) at the 2006 Austin Fantastic Fest. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Starring:: Leo Bill, Kate Fahy, (more)

Director(s):: Simon Rumley

Theatrical MPAA Rating:: NR

Format(s):: DVD
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Average Ratings

(6 member reviews)

Member Reviews

	Patty T.

5 out of 6 people found this review helpful

This was a cheap production and a waste of time to watch.

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	Jarett S.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful

You have to be in a mood for this. If you liked The Hours, Little Children, Fire Walk With Me, you will like this. Awesome art direction. Great attention to detail. A visual experience, i must say. I thought it was a very original creepy story about a delusional, schizophrenic son and the climax of his illness. Loved it. I guess you have to be a certain type of human to appriciate this movie.

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	Kacey P.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful

Yes cheap production and seemed more theater like, thats ok with me so long as the tone is set right, and this movie accomplished that. However, though with lots of potential, it really had no "umph" to back it up. Oh yes, and its not a war movie as the above mentioned genre classification states.

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	Sarah W.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful

This was confusing, but I wasn't bored. Jeremy Knox of 'Film Threat' wrote 'relentlessly sad and grim.' He is right. This film made me miserable for days. . I think it works better as a thriller than like, "Hard Candy" because everyone is sympathetic, making it more disturbing. The sick mom, the stressed dad, the psychotic son- all were sad enough characters that you didn't want the inevetible disaster to befall them. I loved how the schizoprenic case of arrested development was both creepy and pathetic. I never quite understood the intentions of the character. Why did he do what he did? Did he think he was 'curing' mummy? Did he see the chance to be in control with an invalid old woman? Did he have a incestous complex? One finds themselves feeling bad for the insane son as well as not wanting his mom to die. It got trippy around the middle, but it's nice to think Rumley had something original instead of a rehash. It's hardly 'enjoyable,' but it did a lot with emotion and atmosphere.

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